HAVOC AFTER DARK by Robert Fleming , Reviewed by Darkomic77

This is the kind of book that came out of the left field unexpectedly. A book of fourteen short stories from an unknown writer, Robert Fleming.

Overall, Fleming's weird tales were well written, crisp, brisk, and at times lyrical. Sometimes they are cathartic in their depiction of real life horrors i.e. war, racism, and other domestic violence. And sometimes they are darkly erotic.

"Life After Bas" has a mental patient claiming she's already dead yet still alive. She has an invisible friend who is her dangerous lover named Bas. A lover no doctor would ever want to meet.

"The Tenderness of Monsieur Blanc". A hired killer by name of "Monsieur Blanc" was sent to Haiti to deal with a political problem. Deja vu?

"The Ultimate Bad Luck". It's the Fifties. JFK is president. The Civil rights movement is in full swing. These are dangerous times. Clem knew danger when a white woman showed up in his shack. Little does he know how his luck might change.

"The Inhuman Condition" has Casey's life changed forever when he's back from a car accident where he drowned in the freezing depths of the river. Being back from the dead is not always what it's cracked up to be.

"Bordering On the Divine", a little tale concerning Edgar Allen Poe entertaining his uneasy guests.

"The Blasphemer". A newspaper reporter gets curious about a particular gossip columnist who doesn't age. As the old saying goes: Some secrets are often best left alone.

"Arbeit Macht Frei." It's World War II. A couple of black soldiers had to duck for cover from the screaming bullets, whistling bombs, and shrapnel that could cut you in half. They had just caught a German officer of the SS. Soon, one of the black soldiers will learn the true meaning of the horror that has occurred across Europe and it ain't just Auschwitz.

"Speak No Evil". A bluesman has a deal. He will get something for nothing. It was an offer he decided not to refuse.

"Punish The Seed of Satan". This had nothing to do with Satan. An eleven year old boy stands accused of murder. As the guilty verdict is being handed down, he, like most kids his age, would wish he never made a move. This tale was touching and tragic.

"A Lizard's Kiss" is a weird tale involving a cunning woman who cast fortunes that would unsettle any client.

"The Garden of Evil". A girl is being followed. She leads the man to her mansion, and to the greenhouse behind it. The man who followed her would later regret it. Nothing is ever what it seems to be.

"The Wisdom Of the Serpents". The haunting words: "You will pay for what your father did to me" dogged his trail wherever he went from New York to Africa to Asia. Inner peace from the dark curse is a hard thing to come by.

The story,"In My Father's House," is, by far, the weakest in my humble opinion. It's well written but the believability factor just didn't work for me. A kid supposed to be five or six years old talks like a twenty year old adult? It didn't suspend my disbelief. But that's just me. This didn't detract me from the rest of Fleming's weird tales however, which are much better.

The characters in these stories are living, breathing, flesh and blood human beings trying to cope with their situation they were brought into whether they want it or not.

Like I said before, the tales are well written, brisk, crisp, lyrical, cathartic, and some of them so darkly erotic that could get any reader sweating.
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DARK HARVEST by William P. Simmons & Paul Melniczek, Reviewed by David Wilbanks

Russell Dickerson's chilling cover art is an appropriate indicator of the type of tales you'll find gathered in DARK HARVEST. Halloween is the theme, and the holiday is well served in this impressive collection.

Simmons and Melniczek were a wisely chosen combination of writers as their haunting styles mesh perfectly; I even had to check back a couple times to see which author's story I'd been reading; that is a compliment, as all the writing is high caliber.

The tales themselves are solid scary entertainment with one or two rising above the howling pack, my personal favorite being "A Face to Meet the Faces That You Meet" by Simmons.

You get five tales by Simmons, three by Melniczek, an Introduction by Michael Laimo and an Afterward by Gene O'Neill, clocking in at 76 pages total. For six measly dollars, it's a definite steal.

No tricks here, folks--only nasty treats
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THE HOUSE ON ORCHID STREET by T.M. Wright, Reviewed by Erik Tomblin

When setting the atmosphere in a film, the director has at his or her disposal many resources to help create just what is needed. Lights, music, wardrobe. But in fiction, the writer must reply solely on words. This task is not as easy, especially if a writer doesn't want the mood to come across as forced. T. M. Wright has mastered this art. In his novel The House On Orchid Street, Wright once again skillfully weaves settings and characters that lend to his unique sense of the surreal. At the end of each chapter readers may find themselves shaking their heads slightly, blinking once or twice, then eagerly attacking the next page.

The novel's main character, Karen, finds herself the proud owner of a house previously located on Orchid Street half a century earlier. After a series of haunting murders, a fire destroys most of the homes on Orchid Street. The last remaining house is relocated to the countryside where she purchases it as part of her plan to gain independence in her life.

Shortly after Karen moves in, the house's reputation for strangeness becomes apparent. Her brother disappears, and is eventually found dead and buried on his sister's property. In the midst of unfolding the mystery behind her brother's death and strengthening her resolve to become her own woman, Karen encounters forces that have lingered since the house's days on Orchid Street. Wright does an excellent job of introducing these forces in a way that helps the reader empathize with Karen and her confusion about the strange events occurring around her house.

Karen's confusion is complicated by the introduction of Kennedy Whelan, a state investigator assigned to her brother's murder case. Whelan's tactics are harsh and seem to overstep his boundaries on several occasions. His suspicions and methods border on absurd, though Karen's reactions and thoughts lead the reader to believe there is so much more than we are allowed to discover. Wright doesn't easily divulge the answers to all of our questions. That's part of the fun and intrigue of this novel.

We get a strong sense of who the characters in The House On Orchid Street are just through their actions and dialogue. This is much like walking down a residential street and looking at all the different houses: We see a lot from the outside and occasional hear a hint of the action inside. We can make many guesses about what's going on behind those closed doors and shuttered windows, however, we will never know for sure what's happening unless we spend some time inside. It is not always ours to know unless, of course, it's our own home. Karen finds her true place, her home. And by the end of the novel the reader gets the feeling she is at peace with what she has found. Exactly what does she find? That is left for us to intuit. But Wright gives us just enough of a glimpse and incentive to make the discovery process compelling.
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THE ORGAN DONOR by Matthew Warner, Review by Mark Justice

I'm tired of it.

I'm tired of novels that tease a supernatural or fantastic element, and then fail to deliver.

That's why The Organ Donor is such a pleasant surprise. Warner's novel is a fascinating blend of straight-ahead horror, Chinese philosophy and mysticism, along with a healthy dollop of social consciousness.

The story opens in China, where death row inmates have their vital organs harvested immediately upon execution. It seems that China is the answer to the prayers of many foreigners who need an organ transplant but can't get one in their home countries.

Paul and Tim Taylor have come to China because Tim needs a new kidney or he will soon die. Through a tragic circumstance, both brothers end up receiving body parts from the same executed prisoner.

Here comes the complication: the prisoner whose organs were taken was no ordinary man. He doesn't stay dead long, and when he does come back, he wants what's his.

Warner's story moves along at a brisk pace, making it hard to put down. The plot never lags and the details are expertly woven into the story. Whether real or imagined-or both-the elements of Chinese legend in The Organ Donor add another layer of enjoyment to the story.

A common flaw of first novels is often an unsatisfying ending. Warner manages to avoid this pitfall, delivering a finale that is both fitting and wide open for a sequel.

Additionally, The Organ Donor has led me to read more on China's trade in human organs, an immoral business condoned by a corrupt government.

I would say that a novel that entertains you, scares you and makes you look at the world in a different way is a successful novel, by any standard. Put The Organ Donor on your Must Read list.
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DEAD MAN'S HAND by Tim Lebbon, reviewed by Ron Dickie

Tim Lebbon's name is being mentioned more and more often whenever the subject of damn good writing is brought up. DEAD MAN'S HAND is one of the many reasons why.

DEAD MAN'S HAND is the first novella in The Assassin Series by Lebbon featuring the time-traveling killer Temple, and his adversary Gabriel. Time travelers? In the wild west? Yes. Sound good? It gets better.

The story opens with a shopkeeper named Doug encountering a new arrival in the town of Deadwood: a one-eyed gunfighter named Gabriel who is horribly scarred from previous battles. He's not pleasant to look at, or to even be around. He's trouble, and Doug tries his best to stay away from trouble. Sometimes, however, it just can't be avoided.

Gabriel informs Doug that he is in Deadwood looking to kill Temple, a man who is much more than a man. He's a demon, with a particular mission in mind, and that can't be good for the residents of Deadwood. All Doug wants is to run his store, earn a living and maintain his quiet lifestyle, but the arrival of Temple and Gabriel change all of that.

People familiar with Lebbon's work from books such as FACE and THE NATURE OF BALANCE will find a slightly different tone to this work, less grandiose, more claustrophobic, but still unsettling in a way that only Tim Lebbon can be. DEAD MAN'S HAND is a fun, fearsome romp through the truly wild, wild west. Like its characters, it comes at you guns-a'blazin', and doesn't let it up until the last round has been fired.

If DEAD MAN'S HAND is an example of the quality of work that new publisher NECESSARY EVIL PRESS can attract, and keep bringing back, then they are definitely a publishing house to keep an eye on. Publisher Don Koish has hinted that The Assassin Series promises to be a six to ten book series. I, for one, am hoping it goes all the way to ten!
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ODD THOMAS by Dean Koontz
Reviewed by Randy Chandler

I should tell you right from the top that I am a disgruntled Koontz fan. I loved his early books, but he started losing me with MR. MURDER, and with each subsequent book I became less of a fan. With the exception of FROM THE CORNER OF HIS EYE, I couldn't finish his recent novels because his writing style irritated me so and the stories didn't hold my interest. I began to wonder if a Koontz clone was doing the writing. His language seemed stilted, and his attempts at humor struck me as too cute and clever by half. His New Age thrillers just didn't thrill me. Yet I tried to stick with him, hoping to discover the Second Coming of the real Dean Koontz with the Christmastime release of each new book.

Now comes ODD THOMAS. This book-for me, at least-marks the return of Koontz to his dark roots. This is a supernatural thriller that gets the job done. Odd Thomas is a fry cook who sees dead people and sometimes has premonitions of horrors to come. He also sees "bodachs," named after "a small, vile and supposedly mythical beast of the British Isles, who comes down chimneys to carry off naughty children." But these shadowy creatures Odd sees show up in advance of deadly horrific events. Convinced that the swarms of bodachs presage an impending catastrophe in the small town of Pico Mundo, Odd Thomas must try his best to head it off. His only clue is the appearance of Fungus Man, so named because his face has "the quality of a fungus, but a meaty variety. Very Portobello." With his usual cast of misfits (this time including the ghost of Elvis), Koontz take you for a nice spin of storytelling, throwing in some genuine shocks along the way.

My only quibble with ODD THOMAS is that the first-person twenty-year-old narrator of the tale writes exactly like Dean Koontz. Dean should take notes from Stewart O'Nan's recent novel, THE NIGHT COUNTRY; O'Nan nails the language contemporary youth in that fine book and it adds realism to the ghostly story. Still, it's good to have Koontz back in the dark fold. Now if he will just keep his clone in the closet, I'll be a happy reader.
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